Hasan Minhaj Speaks About Why He Publicly Corrected Ellen DeGeneres on the Pronunciation of His Name

Hasan Minhaj publicly taught Ellen DeGeneres how to pronounce his name after she said it incorrectly on her talk show several months ago, and now Hasan is speaking out about why he corrected her. His name is pronounced Has-san Min-haj.

“Mom and Dad are sitting there [...] And Ellen‘s just like ‘Hey Ha-SAAN!’” Hasan said on his Netflix show Patriot Act. “I looked in the audience [...] and my mom who gave me that name is just like ‘eugh.’ And I’m like ‘Dude, what am I doing?’ I have a show with my f*cking name on it…

“And so I was like, ‘Alright, Ellen, just let’s do this right now.’ Cause we can pronounce Timothée Chalamet, so we’re gonna do this right now,” he continued. “So I’m gonna go on Ellen, the most American show ever, and make you hit all the syllables.”

His dad wasn’t happy with him publicly correcting Ellen, and Hasan said, “I think that’s the big difference between our generation and our parents’ generation. They’re always trying to survive. And I mean survival is the thing, so just go by whatever she calls you. And that’s cool. I think when Dad [...] came in ’82, he survived for us. But I’m trying to live. I mean, I’m trying to like ‘Yo Muhammad Ali, say my name. Like, say it.’”